Patient support apparatuses, such as hospital beds, stretchers, cots, tables, wheelchairs, and chairs are used to help facilitate care of patients in a health care setting. Conventional patient support apparatuses generally comprise a base and a patient support surface upon which the patient is supported. Often, these patient support apparatuses have one or more powered devices with motors to perform one or more functions, such as lifting and lowering the patient support surface, articulating one or more deck sections, raising a patient from a slouched position, turning a patient, centering a patient, extending a length or width of the patient support apparatus, and the like.
When the caregiver wishes to operate a powered device to perform a function, the caregiver actuates a user input device of a user interface, often in the form of a button on a control panel. In certain applications, the button is realized as a physical, movable component that is configured to be depressed, switched, toggled, and the like to actuate the powered device. Here, physical movement of the button provides tactile feedback to the caregiver when the caregiver actuates the button. In other applications, the “button” of the user input device may be realized in connection with a touchscreen. Here, conventional touchscreens, as well as other types of input devices, do not provide tactile feedback to the caregiver. In these cases, separate feedback devices may be provided to provide the caregiver with a form of tactile feedback to indicate that the “button” of the touchscreen has been properly actuated. For example, motors which rotate an object with a center of mass offset from the axis of rotation may be employed by or in cooperation with the touchscreen to provide tactile feedback in the form of vibration. However, the use of such motors can add cost and complexity to the touchscreen and, thus, to the patient support apparatus. Similarly, in the event that an alarm needs to be sounded (for example, to alert the caregiver when the patient attempts to exit the patient support apparatus unattended), separate annunciators are employed to output the alarm (for example, speakers). Here too, additional components associated with alarms can add cost and complexity to the patient support apparatus.
While patient support apparatuses have generally performed well for their intended purpose, there remains a need in the art for a patient support apparatus which overcomes the disadvantages in the prior art.